Cricket,,,,its all hapenning

YoYo,

Dada's ouster from the team should not surprise many,but the manner was most unbecoming.The whole thing reeked of conspiracy and smelt worse than rotten apples. When we start treating former captains like shit, as if they were to be discarded once by their use-by date, it doesnt reflects badly not only our empty headed selectors and officials but also on our cricketing ethos.One might argue that Australia take the same decisions with the same ruthlessness,but thats missing the point.We are India,not Australia and we neednt ape everything that the Aussies do.If Saurav needed to be dropped,then as a former captain he deserved to be told in advance to atleast make a possible retirement announcement. Whether his career is over, no one can guess and knowing the pride with which Saurav played cricket, I wouldnt be surprised if he comesback through strong domestic performance, if the selectors havent already made up their minds,that is. Dada will stay as the man who reignited the passion in cricket post match fixing.His contribution goes beyond forming a hard-nosed winning unit from the ragtag disoriented bunch he had been handed over.He backed talent, returned opposition mind games with interest and in general had a no-holds barred approach to winning games.He wore his passion on his sleeve and saw nothing wrong in displaying it in open. His legacy is the team he leaves beind and the confidence dose he gave everyone will no doubt stay beyond. Well done Saurav, India still loves you and for that you should feel it was worth it.
While Ganguly rues about his future,another stalwart will join the elite club of 100+ test cricketers and the even more excusive club of spinners to do so. Anil Kumble and his success is as unassuming as they come.Success couldnt have come to a nicer man. A much underrated leg spinner,Kumble is a man of surprises. Every batter thought that they had worked him out. That was just a myth,for if after 99 tests you can still manage 5-fors and 10-fors against traditionally good players of spin bowling there cant be much wrong about your doing. He doesnt sponsor hot cars or star in flashy commercials. But he wins games and when he hangs his boots as a tired old man, he will have a warm corner reserved for him in everyones hearts.
On a personal note, my cricket action has been picking up as well.Played for 2 Fridays under the flood lights at the UofM grounds.Holding a bat in hand felt so good.Started with a pathetic first ball duck,then had a good support partnership in a chase, had another second-last ball single winner and capped it off with a Dhoni style innings.The ball hitting the middle is the most satisfying sound I've heard in recent times.

More cricket action coming !!

Yeda Anna at his Photogenic best and also going Hi-Tech.Learning how to add pictures to my blog represents a significant technological advancement for me.
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Thanks to ......

YoYo,

This is ThanksGiving,another major festival on the calendar.Means not much to me,but in the spirit of being in the States, it again means a fair bit.In the fitness of things,this blog will not be about my usual crib-complain-cry stuff.Rather I was thinking about who are the people and what are the things I should be thankful for.I think when I am alone, I tend to better organize my thoughts and my thinking process is much clearer,and hence this is a good time to make these judgements.
My first thought went of course to my family and the strong support cast that surrounds me.When I travel in the Miami-Dade bus every single day to work and see the people around me whose career means working at McDonalds and gas stations,I am thankful for my parents for having educated me and empowered me with a chance to lead a better life. When I see kids in my apt complex *trying out stuff* I am again thankful to my family for keeping me on the right track. I also think I have some good friends with whom I can take certain luxuries and not feel guilty about it one bit. Eg: One weekend I went to a friends place, (kind of unannounced),finished off partially his Chinese-Tofu rice,went to sleep peacefully without having to worry if he had enough to fill himself. Such people are far and in between and I think I am incredibly lucky to have them. Then there are others from school days and VIT days who keep encouraging and pushing me for better things !

Even considering my present status (or should I say lack of it, pun intended) I think I have a fair bit going for me.I have had a chance to work in a top notch medical device company and with a little luck I will get the position I want so desperately and add a few $ to my bank account which again by gods grace looks much better than it ever did.I know how bad it is when you are in debt,some of my closest friends have been throught that nightmare.At work,things are always fun and my boss also thinks fairly well about me.On the personal front,reading has picked up again.I just finished "Surely you are joking,Mr.Feynman" an extremely entertaining book.Gym also is going well and though I cant put on the pounds and though I keep guzzling beer I am in much better shape than I ever was. So I think admist all the chaos and confusion that has been my shadow since the last eight months theres a lot I must look forward to and be thankful for.
So there you are !

Indian born confused desi ??

YoYo

Today is Lakshmi poojan. Its the most important day of the most important festival of the Hindu Calendar. I had known in advance, yet did nothing. No pooja, not even an attempt. Worryingly this is the second year in a row that this has hapenned. Same was the case with Dassera.One of my worst fears is about to come true. Am I beginning to lose the importance of these things ? Will with every passing year, things become progressively worse? If I stay in this country for any more length of time, would all these things might start meaning nothing but another date in the calendar for me?? Last year at least we has made some sweets to celebrate this ocassion. This year, none. Didnt even go to the local desi grocery store to get something readymade.Of course I made the India call to wish everyone, but thats as far as I went. I wonder if others are sharing my lack of enthusiasm ? Or is it just me ?

I noticed this even during my India visit, earlier in the year. I had just brushed it off, as my arrogance or maybe a heady feeling of being on cloud 9 after graduating from school, which I thought qualified me as a hero/stud of some sort. Everything seems a little annoying back home. No broadband, no electricity, no continous warm water, roads from hell and all of a sudden you are longing to head back to Miami. (when not in hurricane season of course !!) Not only this I could feel the slight disconnection between me and my relatives. Everyone is suddenly leading their own lives and I have no clue. Of course, in reality all of them are pretty much in touch with each other, celebrating festivals and being together on all possible ocassions. Its only me who is out of the loop and whats worse is that once you get used to it, you dont even seem to mind. But I do end up feeling like a f****** looser make that a capital L

411 ......looking back

YoYo

Its 3.36 ET on a Thursday, I am home because my boss sent us that way after a power outage stuck the facility and a transformer caught fire. With nothing to do I thought I will read Gundyas blog, turns out I started reading his earlier ones esp the one on 411.Made me emotional.

This is so freakin depressing. Just a couple of daya ago Guru sent an email saying how he missed 411. I dont know what happens with other grad students who stay together. What I can say with certainity is that all the 411 ites miss 411. A good 9 months after we all split, we still hang onto those memories, of friends and times, of beers and parties, of cooking diasasters and grand arguements on cricket and politics,desperately hoping those times will return when we know they wont.

411 was many things to many people. For Bhosu,Joshya and Nerlya it was evening cha adda.Watch Fox Sports soccer news, have chaha, sometimes dinner and enjoy the evening.For Phatak it was like a spiritual home (He once said that to me !). I was as confused as anything considering that 411 was less spiritual and more inclined to "wahayat and dangat pora"type activities. Of course ganapati basawla hota pan,,,,For Gulve, it used to be a weekend timepass when we cooked bhajis and puliyogaras on a major scale or played patte esp after Vball session.For sime it was a "assignments karun milteel center" as folks used Satyas and Pappans expertise to help in HW.

For us (Myself,Pappan,Gundya,Guru,Monty,Satya and Manya and Mama and Balu ) it was home in the real sense. Its the place we wanted to be and looked to go each time we had some small window of opportunity. When I see my other buddies spend night after night in school I feel sad and imagine how misearable it must be to be in school at odd hours not because of too much work load but because there was nothing else to do.
Well, I miss home

Down but not quite out......

YoYo
I have exactly three months and a week to go. I am all at sea. I am preparing myself for one last fight,one final throw of the dice,one parting cameo innings.Multiple things seem to happen and on the other hand none at all. Too many slips between the cup and the lip, too many almost-there-but not-quite type of situations. I am tired and frustrated, tired of sending customised emails and frustrated at the wonderful positions that seem to go right past my nose simply because I dont have the right type of stamp yet on my Visa.

Theres hope still, of course. There always is something interesting that keeps me in the hunt, But I am hoping something materialises. One of my friend has this line as his email signature "Never give up for that is just the time and place the tide will turn"

I think its about time !

Tats

Priceless!!

A parker pen : $50
A Pentel pencil : 10
Finding a pen near a telephone that actually works : Priceless

A movie on a friday night:$10
Trip to orlando :$100
Stay at home and debate Tendulkar V/s Waugh over beer : Priceless

Ice cream at hagen Dazs : $7
Dinner at chilis:$18
Aai cha hatchi poli ani batatyachi bhaji with waran bhat : Priceless!

Indian players one match fee : >1 lakh
Costiof watching a live game : 600 rupees
The feeling after a tense win over Pakistan:Priceless !

A pair of nike shoes : $50
Shorts from GAP:$15
Mitrachi chorleli topi or T shirt :Priceles
Manya and Khare have special thanks due to their donation of multiple T shirts to me

There are some things money can't buy,And those are the ones that I enjoy
the most!

Ashes 2005 ...upside down version

YoYo
And so the might have fallen ! or have they ? With the 3rd test Ashes tantalisingly poised and the Poms set for a 2-1 lead, the Kangaroos will find themselves in unfamiliar territory.Long used to pumelling the Brits, the Aussies now find themsleves with a 100 overs to bat and save the game.Hayden's arrogance,Langer's tenacity Ponting's fluency,Clarks illuminating strokeplay,Gilly's patience will all be put to the test by a fired up Harmission and Flintoff. And how can we forget Giles. A poor excuse for a spinner he might be, but he certainly seems to be doing his job !

Which brings me to another spinner who is more than excelling in the Ashes. Shane Warne, is a champion of the truest sense.The leg breaks are fizzling and the English for all their brave strokeplay arent still sure of how to distinguish a googly from the slider and what other exocit variations Warne might have up his sleeve.Warne is a terrific advertisement for cricket, his off field indiscretions notwithstanding. Picture this:You are the batsman, hes standing with the red cherry at around 22 yards and a few more from you. His blond hair is spiked,face covered with sun screen.Lips perched,ball tossing in his hand,a foxy smile lights up his face,expectant of the mayhem about to ensue. He takes a few measured steps,gathers a bit of momentum,lets out a grunt before his mammoth wrists and arms send teh ball whizzing in a variety of angles and directions leaving the bat clueless. You stand befuddled not quite knowing what hapenned.? Did the pace beat you ? Was it the spin ? or Was it just a straight ball that you thought would spin? As confused as as desi in a spanish speaking area,you just forget what happened and settle down to endure another magical torture. Before long Warne will have you in his maze and you find yourself sipping lemonade in the pavilion!

Shanes variations and his accuracy in delivering those mark him as the outstanding bowler of any category,spin or fast. Before him leg spin bowling started and ended with the quixotic Abdul Qadir. England hadnt heard of it I presume and in the WI anything less than 95 mph wouldnt be bowling at all. Warnes contribution goes beyond the 600 wickets he took.Reviving the dying art of leg spon bowling, introducing own variations and in general his showmanship while doing his job.

Now if the rest of the Aussies were doing theirs, the Kangaroos would be jumping with joy rather than facing the threat of a 2-1 deficit and the igonimous series defeat at the hands of England

Peace of Mind for a piece of my mind

YoYo

Seriously contemplating about starting some sort of meditation/Yoga. While usually I am of an equable temparament, sometimes the goings on at workplace and at my home test my limits.Limits of patience and tolerance.Sometimes I feel like I am about to snap and when I will,I will launch into a scathing attack on some unfortunate individual.

I have also started reading the "Bhagwad Gita:As it Is".The gita,I understand is one of the most read and studied pieces of text in history.When I saw the book in my dad's book rack it aroused my curiosity and decided that it will be a good idea for me to carry it with me to US. One of my better decisions,as it turned out.

The book first gives the recitation in Sanskrit,in devnagiri script, followed by a word to word explanation and then the meaning of the whole is given.This is followed by the detailed description of the entire paragraph.This part is most interesting for it is not only informative but also offers thoughtful comments and gives an idea of what was Lord Krishna thinking when we was offering advice to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.I can feel

I must confess that my reading is irregular and often hasty.Reading Sanskrit even in small doses is challenging and understanding it even more so, especially since I havent read devnagiri script the past 3 years.Even prior to that my marathi reading was restricted to the sports page of Sakal.The good thing however is the peace of mind that ensues after just a 10 minute effort.There is a certain tranquility that fills my mind.Thats is why I make every attempt to shut myself off in my bedroom and read it peace and quiet just before I am about to pack up for the day. As I find my after-office hours life being dominated by wasted hours on the internet,random watsup calls to my friends and movies I realise that spending mere 10-15 minutes offers me a welcome diversion.For that and that alone its worth every effort.

The gangs of Milton

YoYo

Its on.....4th July weekend promises a return to those days I so long for.6 of us plan to land at Mamas place which makes us a 7 strong. One of the spl features of Milton life was our "Gholka Sanskruti" meaning if you need one for the job take two. If you need 2 take four and so on. Simple example : I had 4 roomies pick me up when I landed at Miami airport from Cincinnati a year or so ago.Basically car must always be full, house must be full,to watch a movie or cricket match you must have "watawaran mirmitee"blinds drawn,chaha in hand,2 sleeping bags spread on carpet with 10-12 "ushya". These are all examples of Gholka Sanskruti. Now that I am not experiencing all this,I am beginning to realise how much I miss it.
But the Cali trip promises to resurrect this all. Van will be booked, manya/gundya will make chaha,pappan will make pav-bhaji,and mama will make half fry each morning for 3 days. We will probably get nostalgic,pull each others legs,ask mama about his marriage planss, have fun,drink and get others drunk and in general have a good time. On monday the fairy tale will end and all of us will return back to our schedules and continue once again to lead lives like human machines.(sic)
PS: Milton has its own set of words only Miltonvasis know. Gholka Sanskruti is one, a term I heard from my granddad (which I promptly put into usage here).My next blog promises to be about Milton Language

A mixed bag

YoYo

Back after an awfully long time. Life at the moment seems to be whizzing past me at breakneck speed. Ever since I started my contract position things have changed for the better.First came the job, then the admit from Keck Graduate Institute for the Master of Bioscience Program and then came the Big one...2 shorts from Champion Sports along with a supply of Kesharratna Supari. Arrite ..just kidding.

But seriously when I think about whats happened in the last few months I realise that my life is taking turns, slow and steady and in the positive direction. I had been warned by all and sundry that getting a job after graduation is hard work and needs a combination of luck and persistence. I do not know whether I am lacking in the former or the later or what else is missing but now I know fully comprehend what they meant.

A fair amount of uncertainity seems to dominate my everyday life these days.In matters of job search I have had only partial success.My current position is a project to project assignment and hence unreliable as a means of employment.I came close to almost getting thro with a Boston based Biomedical Co before they rejected me due to an imperfect match of skills. A perfect case of a slip between the cup and the lip. Had numerous other leads but they remained just that. Even with the Keck thing the crucial aspect of finances still need to be worked out. Whether I go to the program or not what gave me immense satisfaction was that I got thro the admission in the first place. Its a confidence booster for sure when you realise that qualified and educated people on the admissions committee think you to be competent enough to get into one of the best Bioscience pgms in the US.

And so the next few months will unfold and I will chart my course. Will it be the Keck school that Alan Carsrud so desperately wants me to go to ? Or will it be a job and H1 and the realisation of the Great Indian Middle Class Dream? I have no answers.........

24 hours

YoYo
Next 24 hours. Hoping to hear some news. Fingers Crossed. Agonising wait.Jeez...I think I might be checking my yahoo Email a zillion times from 9-00 to 5-00.

Miami-White Plains Non stop Balle Balle !

Friday Night at Gulves place:
Gatti calls us for Tandoor/Beer combo.We jump at the chance,enjoy the Bud and the tandoor and conversation shifts to what time is a "good time" to begin our road trip. I suggest a moderate 8-00 am.Bhosu an insomniac by nature insists a improbable 6-00 (his plan being clubbing till 5-00 so that he can sleep in the car till his driving duties beckon him) and gulve who
really has no responsibilities whatsoever decides to contest me and bhosu and floats 7-00. Gundya whose had another torrid experience at airport roots for 10-00.We bicker/fight/argue and vehemently proclaim our indivisual choices to be the most sensible. As usual We fail to reach a consensus so we decide to settle things the Milton way. We make Pacchaki. "Kamichi
majority". Gulve wins,sets the time for 7-00 which basically means 9-00. Gundya/gulve leave to watch the game at Cesmec, Bhosu goes clubbing and I having slept just 3 hrs the previous nite (courtesy joshis friends) leave for home excited and all set for my first real driving experience.Promises to be fun. I am a little concerned though. Gundya says hes added my name of his car insurance but we dont have any proof apart from an confirmatory email from Geico.
*******

Sat at 7-00 am :
No ones including yours truly has wokenup. I wake at 7-20 then at 8-00. I call everyone and looks like we mite leave by 9-00. Eventually we leave milton at 11-00 ET.
Sat 1100 to 1600 hrsKhare takes the wheels first, I being the navigator. We hit our beloved I95. Gonna be there for freakin 1100 miles and > 20 hrs. B4 leaving Gulve takes a snap of all of us, the only one of the trip as it turns out. After that his Canon never left the car.In a flash we are out of Miami, reach FLL and are onto Palm Beach, ~ 75 miles from MIA. Rains hit us.We are stuck in a jam for ~ 40 mnts.Bad start, I mutter to myself,and never failing to remind Khare the virtues of sticking to ones lane when he attemps to change and get ahead by 10 feet.Not worth it I remind him. Gradually the traffic block subsides and we settle down. Gundyas driving, the newly acuired MP3s churnin out songs and B&G are bickering on how to adjust sleeping positions. I am doing nothing in particular except trying to spot hot chicks driving in sleek cars or at least just the sleek cars.Some intermittent conversations ensue, We discuss Indias victory, my luckless job search and gundyas even more luckless attempts to patao and date anyone female.He tells me about his "Love Guru" and how hes helping in setting up dates for him. gets me interested for sure. But I am alert at all time in my role as a navigator.Gundya being prone to speeding keeps me on duty throughout.

Heres a demo conversation:
Tats : are limit 65 ahe jara halu ghe apan 90 war ahe

Gundya : silence, complete ignore marto. I slow down the "Dhoom machale Dhoom....." blaring from his deck

Tats: are kami karki, cop ni dharla na tar g*** lagel, jitka speed ahe titkya $ che ticket milel

Gundya: (sly smile, slows down a wee bit, coz when it comes to money this guy has it all worked out)a couple of secs later I shout/yell/pray as we merge into another lane

Tats: Are aplyala YIELD aheeeeee......halu gheeeeeeeeeee

gundya : hmm

10 secs later we are back on 90mph, I am back into chick-spotting and fantasising what it would be to dance with Esha Deol. In the meanwhile Gulve and B continue thier attempts to convert the rear seat into a sofa cum bed for two.

**We stop for food at Burger King, at New Smyrna beach.**

Sat 1700-2200 Hrs

Finally I am driving, Waited long for this,real long. Been drivin in India since I was 18 and once even b4 that when I coaxed our driver to allow me to take out the maruti in reverse from our house. Somehow didnt have the chance to drive here. I screw up my first big opportunity to impress my mates with my skills. I put the Corolla in the wrong gas station choosing to leave
one just before that falling victim to G attemts to force us to fill gas at some stn for which he gets CC points. B challenges me to reverse the car and put in back in the previous stn, I dont take up that challenge,sheepishly make an U, fill the tank and off I am. I take the I 95 exit. and settle down.Turns out B and G are no longer sleeping.In fact both are wide awake & Gundya now the navigator monitors my every move.Everyones a little tense I suspect. Then for some time no one says anything.Its as if they are waiting for me to come up with somehing sensational like messing up in lane changing or something similar. No such xcitement for them. I am as solid as a Dravid defense against an Aussie attack. Sensing that, BandG give up their sitting posns andn decide to go back to sleep.Once again they fight they bicker, they bargain and the highly resourcefull nature of G means that they use are off to sleep the use Gundyas T shirt as a protection from the sunny sun. (What an dumn alliteration !)We move at a nice pace.Its a psychological boost when we leave FL. The Jacksonville downtown is quite beautifil I notice.We
just go on and on stopping at a Mac Someplace in between. There we get down from the car and whao...its cold. Miami chaddis as unsuitable for this weather as SRK in a nonromantic movie .So we have coffee. All except your truly then go and releive themselves in the MacD.
They say this is a result of Coffee. I am the odd one out. They also reach a consensus that if a foulish smell occurs henceforth in the car I am to be blamed since I am loaded. I protest and announce that I will announce loud and clear before I do. And so we get back on the road. At around this time I am begining to get a little tired. I have seen us through our second
solid traffic jams. One in Atlanta near Savannah. We crawl for45 -50 mnys and cover just 8 miles in the process. A brilliant driving performance tarnished by a stupid traffic jam. Am I plain unlucky or what.Anyway Its time for the raat ke khiladi to take over. We stop for lunch some
place in the S.Carolina. I eat as if food were out of style but so do BandG.I am a lil worried. They are gonna be driving so why the heck are the eating so much ? At this stage we have covered 530 miles.Its 12-00 am by the time we finish food and bidi and all that. I and Gundya slip into the rear seats and BandG take over from here.

Sun 00-0500

I can only vaguely recall what went on those 5 hrs. What I know is that we just zipped along cutting thros the S and N Carolinas and half of virginia. Much like Veerus strokeplay Bs driving is quite thrilling. B drives on an avg at 90 mph. Its a good thing I was sleepy and groggy else I would have probably seen to it that we slow down. We dont, we stop for a leak just once when I spot a motel and was hint to my mates the comfort of warmbeds and blankets and hot chocolates as compared to rear seats of Corollas.I cant seem to sleep but around 0300 I go 180 degress and wander off into dreamland.Being vertically challenged does have its advantages, At around 430 B is ready to give up the wheels but not quite. He wants to see the trip meter roll to 1000 under him and so it is. We pull into a gas stn, everyones hungry and all have Dunkins Donuts except me.Again I am the odd one out. The raat ke khiladi having done a magnificient job look towards the rear seats as longingly and lovingly as an Indian netaji towards his voters in election time. So yours truly and Gundya are back.We gave covered 1000 miles.

******************
Sun0600-1100
Not quite sure of Gundyas sleepiness status and rejuvenated by an hour or so of sleep, I offer to drive. BandG go back to their sequence of fight/bicker/bargain/sleep and so does Gundya. I am driving alone listening to nice jagjit Songs playing in the background.Perhaps the quitest phase of our trip since all are well and truly sleepy.We have 350 odd
miles to go plus another 40 once we hit NYC. Even I am feeling to feel the effect of lack of good nights rest.Just once, for that briefest fraction of a second I sense my car veer into the shoulder onto the rumble strip.Its just a wake up call I need. I concentrate hard feeling if I can cut another 125 miles Gundya can finish off the rest 200 odd. And so it is. We stop once at a shitty convenience store. Because I am hungry now I eat mexican-veg-cheese taquito. Bad idea. Its oily smelly and smells of jalapenos (Another dumb construction). But I am hungry so I eat all the same. Then I take a cup of coffee, hand over the keys to Gundya and slip into the co-drivers seat.I have passed through Virginia and some part of Maryland ( Baltimore,DC) and so on. We are almost there.Gundya finishes off the rest of the miles with elan.The drive is quite beautiful
and the roads are really awesome and curvy.We pass thro the NJ turnpike,pay a heavy toll and are finally into NYC. We cheer our arrival. Through all this Gundya opens his windows every so often for some absurd reason which earns him plenty of "tuza aaicha ****" from the rear seaters. He simply smiles,ignores them. But I also teach him how to operate the heater.how to
operate the MP3 and the defrost & similar things.Turns out he knew nothing in his car apart from hitting the starter and zooming off.Also quite an achievement for me since I am the most techno-phobic person on gods earth
**********************

Sun 1100-1300

We are on the right track to White Plains. Like excited teenagers, and we are 26 yr old tenagers, we plan our strategy for rest of the day.Take a shower and finsh off all the food at any available Desi rest seems to sit well with all. But Gundya screws us it up all up BIG TIME. He offers to take us to White Plains via a scenic route and so at the last moment and to our intense dismay he decides to take an exit. He says "Picadilly North warun jau ",only the pblm being that we see Picadilly East and West and no North in our further road signs. When we attempt to go back to our I 287E we cant. Weve completely been confused.I had heard horror stories of NYC traffic and confusing roads. Now I know what those went thro and also understand why Gundya has to stay at airports so often when he misses flights.He takes wrong exits you see, going south when he must go east and so on. Somehow we reach back on the right road wasting around 45 mnts inthe process.The good part of this being I get to see the NJ Nets Continental arena stadium and the Giants stadium. Finally we reach home with no further issues.We have travelled for ~ 26 hrs inclusive of breaks and gas halts. Weve cut thro 1400 miles and miles of concrete.B and G have driven 500 miles each and I almost 400.Weve reached safe and sound in one piece.At the end of it I can only thank Eisenhower for making this possible! Thers one last bit of confusion. The daylight savings means we move one hour ahead. My cell does not auto correct.Somehow after a brief struggle and lots of R&D I manage to learn how to change the time of my cell but I have to still deal with the watch. I give up having failed last year on this very issue. I know its an useless endeavour. Basically this means I cant wear my wrist watch for the next half an year Since I cant adjust its time I wear it only Oct thru april. Sad but true. When I confess this to everyone all have a hearty laugh. Alls well that ends well I say.
===================================================

PS : We shower , eat at a mall food court, sleep, eat again, sleep again and drop BandG off at LGA at 5-30.Road trip over, back to reality!
===================================================

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Havent found myself in a more sombre and frustrated mood in ages. Job search is turning out to be one long haul for me. Its so f***** frustrating. Feels like you are banging your head against a brick wall. You keep hitting in the hope a brick will fall and a ray of light will shine through

tats.

Tats misses Taco times

YoYo
Just downed a couple of chalupas in about the same number of minutes. Thats the vigor with with I devour them. One of the things i miss desperately since 411 split up is our tradition of going to Taco Bell on Sunday nites.

Almost like a ritual it was. Play volleyball, take a shower and barge into taco. Once there order some dozen or so chalupas for 5 people, a mex pizza, and a few Fiesta potatoes-nacho cheese seperate.Next take a ton of hot and fire sauce (not kidding bhai, once I complained to Taco cust serv on their 1-800 no. when I observed that our store used have a shortage of fire sauce on sunday nights, Thats an unpardonable offense sir....) and plunder and gorge.

It was a routine that was followed with an uncanny regularity. Now Taco Bell is no glamorous place for a dinner but in my heart and that of my roomies it holds a special place. Nacho Cheese Chicken Chalupa is my favorite and Zesty Chicken Bowl a close second. When it comes to having a quick and low cost dinner nothing quite beats good ol Taco Bell.Over a period of time I have come to like American Food , their cuisine or whatever they have as an excuse for it, Tacos and Subways and Chicken Grills have become a part of life. The only Indian food that I genuinely miss is at Vaishali that too more for nostalgic reasons than for those of the palate. But when I was in India it was the chalupas I was missing!


One of the funniest things in the whole process was to watch other folks stand with irritated expressions on their faces and giving us looks since all the Taco workers would be busy in processing our orders. On such ocassions we used to joke that "taco hang zala re...."

But those days are now gone.Today I was in Taco all alone and to say the least it feels weird.

I miss those nights ..........

tats
===========================
PS : I have the distinction of having my photo put up on tacos baord. It was taken on one of their customer appreciation programs. A fitting reward for my loyalty to Taco Bell, as I never tire of reminding folks

On Tendlya and our perception of him

Yo
Am writing a blog on Tendlya and all the while I was constructing it my mind kept flowing back to an email I sent to my MiltonKatta group a few months ago. Now heres what happened.
1) Start with the link I have pasted. I dont think its working but It is about Tendlya bashing.

2) Some guy sent an email to Manya in defense of the tendlya (I mean against the Tendlya bashing) and Manya promptly forwarde that mail to MiltonKatta.
3) I responded to it
So read the mails as I have pasted them. Enjoi and wait for my blog on Sachin
tats
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1) http://sify.com/connect/discussions/viewpostsflat.php?
f=13446421&pid=16343

2) Sachin has record of hitting maximum times of 6 on 99!!

Well,i juz came across intresting stats,which will keep mouths of Sachin bashers shut forever.Source wisden www.cricinfo.com

Sachin has record of hitting maximum times of 6 when on 99:he had done this feat 7 times!!! second best is richards at 4 now i dont understand y people think he is getting slow wen on 99?

Strike rate of sachin from 75-100 - 116.00 runs/100 balls
Strike rate of Sachin from 1-75- 89.00 runs/100 balls
NOw coming back to comment made by hayden,Mr rantunga(ex crickter of Sl) has come up in defend of subcontinent players with interesting stats

Strike rate of Ricky from 75-100- 98.00runs/100 balls
Strike rate of ricky from 1-75 -82.00 runs/100 balls

Strike rate of Hayden(hes big mouth) from 75-100-78.00 runs/100 balls
Strike rate of Hayden from 1 to 75- 87.19 runs/100 balls

Now this stats are offical.If u all Sachin bashers can read and have good eye,compare the strike rate and u will see dat ricky and hayden gets slow as they
approach century whereas tendulkar strike rate increases.I think u people are jealous of Sachin.Tell u all,even if u all die,no one will be other to ask
for u.So anyways u all Sachin basher need some cricketing lessons and can i suggest u all to hide behind ur mom's "pallu" cuz u all r still kiddos,u
argue without any stats and facts. Recently Sachin has slowed down from strike rate of 97.00( present strike rate of 89.00 is good buthes been label as selfish slow player!!!)

Reasons for his slowing down from 97 to 89 are

1)hes maturing as crickter( even great richards slow down a bit).Every does slow down after certain age and years of cricketing experience
2)hes been told to pace his innings by team management including captain

3)his injuries has robbed him of few stroke making shots.

Inspite of this hes NO 1 and hes been selected in richie benuad team of world 11 and also been selcted by Don bradman in his team.Viv richards once told" we
> need Sachin in our team rather than Lara!!" Either all these great cricket legends are fool and u => all Sachin bashers are wish.Can u all Sachin basher answer me y Bradman,Richard,Richie benaud,GeoFF boycott,Chappell calls Sachin as No 1 batsmen of all times??? are they fool?U people argue dat Sachin fans are fanatics okay for sake of arguments lets accept it.But what about these cricketing legends? and always
> stats says look for stats and compare Sachin with others.
>
>
> I sometimes wonder if u all Sachin bashers are aware wat bat and ball is? Do u know how much toll cricket takes on a cricketer's body? Have u ever faced ball?
> have u ever hold bat? Most of you will be having big beer belly and most of u must be impotent" and ur wives must be sleeping around with someone" so u guys
> are frustrated and vent out ur frustration here by writing all kinds of crap.
> what have u done for India? other than bashing Sachin and other Indian cricketers? Cricket is game of luck,it needs juz one good ball to get batsmen
> out.Take it in sporting spirit.Sachin,Dravid,Ganguly,Laxman,Shewag,Kumble have
> enuf of money for their coming 5-6 generations.Then why are they playing? they are playing for fame not money.Understand this and undertand very well.No one
> is playing for money.They play for fame and their individual selfishness is good for India.Some foolish guy posted "Sachin plays slow" Strike rate of 89 is
> slow??? lol! i feel u all guys need to go to mental asylum.
>
> Before i end,a final stats which will end the debate about whos the best bat
> No of matches Sachin won for india 118( 54 abroad)
> No of finals Sachin won for india(read it ,its
> final)-3
> No of Series Decider Sachin won for india-6
>
> Sachin has also record of having highest no of Man of match Sachin has record of wining india matches(single handedly)-116 Sachin has record of wining crucial matches for india

> All these records and stats are there for u blind people at www.crickinfo.com
>
> No mordern cricketer not even ViV richards have such record. I agree,Sachin has slowed down,but even now his strike rate is more than Hayyden,Ricky,Lara,Gibbs,Jayasuryia.
>
> Some foolish people argue,Sachin never plays when > require then how come he won 116 matches for us?> including 3 finals and 6 series decider?? second best
> bat in world regarding this is ViV richards(3 finals> and 5 series decider).Viv is rated high cuz he won> world cup for Westindies.But dont forget Viv had
> support of 10 good team mates.Sachin never had and> will never have cuz other players never perform in> crunch time(Dravid did once,now hes regular failure 37
> runs in his last 8 innigs,he never performed in> crucial matches!!)
>
> So stop Sachin bashing,do some collective work and if> u people dont have work,i suggest u something,Go Fu*ck> Urself!!

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nOW IF YOU READ THRO THIS READ MY RESPONSE TO THIS ARTICLE

Good one manya
I think its the unrealistic expectations of cricket fans that cause us to belittle him.First we proclaim him to be GOD and then we actually expect him to play that role.Then we discover to our horror that he is human after all (though in a different league than most of us)and we go on denying what we were proudly asserting in the first place.Its a comical-tragedy

But i dont agree with the arguement "Have u ever held a ball in ur hand etc etc".This arguement is childish,frivolous and based more on emotion which is a typical trait of an INdian cricket lover.Cricket is a profession like any other and the public is free to say what they want.Going by the authors logic politicans cant be criticed coz none of us enter that arena, business policies cant be critictsed
becoz not all people are business men and so on.Not being a cricketer is not a valid reason for preventing anyone to comment on it.A couch Potato and Richie Benaud are both allowed to criticize except that everyone cares on Benaud's comment

I feel,we have historically given importance to individuals rather than team work.Hence we are on the lokout for that one hero and gods liek Amitabh Bacchan or Tendlya.SInce we are short of heroes we are desperately looking for some-one to fulfill that role .Sachin fits perfectly since he rose on talent, hardwork from a middle class background.He is a inspiration for us and symbolic of our dreams ro
rise above ordinary.In him we see a little bit of ourselves.But since most of us are mere mortals and cant rise above mediocrity we desperately want him to fulfill our dreams and glories.Tendlya is our substitute.When he sometimes falls short, we fell betrayed since we feel that our trust has not been vindicated.If India had a gold
winning bunch of althetes,a handful of Tennis and Badminton,Squash players on the Intl circuit, a football team worthy of standing upto even Japan and a hockey team that wasnt such a embarassment, the pressure on Sachin and our expectation from him would have been lesser to a great degree.

3. " What have u done for India ".Following is my arguement on this.This is not in context with Sachin but more as a general comment on the author asking us what we have done for the country as compared to sportpersons.

Sportperson bring glory to INDia and make us proud.They raise our self-esteem a few notches and make us happy collectively.But Sportpersons sometimes make it sound as if they are doing a favor or obliging the the nation by playing for the country. I hate it when they say this.What are you exactly talking about? These guys get paid beyond anyones dreams,lead the life of a superstar and in general are at the top layer of society for DOING WHAT IS THEIR PROFESSION.Remember that.Its their damn
profession.Iyts their JOB like you and me except that the stakes are too high.Instant stardom and equally faster fall-down. It is their choice to be a cricketer/sportperson in the public eye.They know well what the pros and cons are.When all of a sudden things become too hot to handle they start dragging our nation into the picture and talk of "sacrifices" and "served the nation loyally". Did u ever hear anyone say that I am getting paid too much OR say that I dont deserve a Ferrari...or that I dont think I deserve a sea-face flat in Mumbai ? I am not grudging these folks their due.They worked harder than any of us can imagine,
made "sacrifices" (Eg V.Amritraj mom used to wake him at 4..send him to practice....schooling etc prac again...Vijay was w weak child,,tennis is an expensice sport in INdia.Note the context in which I am talking about sacrifice.)Its about these poeple giving up normal luxuries,travelling a couple of hours for good practice facilities etc.These are sacrifices but pls dont equate with "sacrifice for the country"

Bharat-Mata is too great and when anyone decides to talk about sacrifices we must keep in mind that it is our country we are talking about.Not a trivial issue. And When u talk of service to nation it is our soldiers and Jawans who we should think about.Get paid peanuts and put lives on stake.And What about the faceless
workers engaged in social service like Baba Amte ?Can you try and put things in perspective now ? And what is service to the nation exactly ? An honest office
goer..is he serving the nation ? A good public minded citizen who raises voice against corruption ? Isint taht service ? I can give 100s of such examples.I hate it when someone in sports talks about "Sacrifices" made by him for the country. When u do a sacrifice you give up something and not end up gaining something.Sacrifices for a nation are selfless actions not a give-take transaction.

Thats all folks
Manya- Tula laiiiiiiii marnar ahe.If I spent this time on thesis
Iwould have finished at least 3 4 more pages,,,,hahahaaaa
Enjoi folks and remember that I have written my point of view.No
personal issues.Have a good w/e

Hands up, Pants Down

Yo

I am a little bit confused by the recent expose by India TV regarding Shakti Kapoor et al. The phenomenon of casting couch is a open secret. However wrong it may be morally and socially one wonders if it is an offense as such. What I am trying to gather is if it is illegal at all,whether there exists an law that deems it an offense or a crime punishable in court. Reduced to simple terms it means two adult indivisuals consensually engaging in sexual activity. The practice is condonable and exploitatative no doubt and the few bad men (and women!) who engage in such behavior, I hope are only a very small minority of Bollywood, Indias glorious film industry.

What I was most bothered about is the manner of the expose.It appears to be a publicity stunt, designed more to garner TRPs rather than to expose the malaise afflicting Bollywood.

Consider the facts. The sting reporter visits SK .One wonders her choice of SK in the first place. He is neither a director/producer/leading actor and is infact a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to social behavior. (For this piece of info I have to say thanks to newspapers who dug up all the dirt on his past behavior like in S.A.) She visits him not in a office but in a hotel room of all places. She offers him drinks, gets him to loosened up a little and then asks him for a role. She offers herself *to do whatever is required to get a role*. Now it doesnt take an Einstein to guess what she is referring to. Unknown to SK he is being videotaped in his private hotel room. After such suggestive actions if at all SK responded to her, I would interpret it as SK being immoral person rather than one demanding sex in return for a place in Bollywood. Note that SK isint soliciting sex in the first place. And even if he were the sting would have only proved SK to be engaged in inappropritae behavior. It would not have been sufficient evidence of *Existence if casting couch in Bollywood*. If that is the channels objective, as they state it is, than they should have carried out many more sting operations for such a generalisation to be made.

My point here is that it is not whether the Casting couch exists or doesnt. The point of contention and dispute is that if India TVs aim was to expose this phenomenon than doing a sting operation on side actor, not reputed for his behavior, wasnt the way to go about it.It is in this context that the sting appears less of an expose and more of an exploit.To me it appears to be an attempt at sensationalism rather than journalism. Notice how the names of top-actors liek Ash, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee are woven into the operation. Again this name dropping appears to be an publicity stunt.

Sting operations will always border on the thin line between ethical and unethical. When they adrress relevant social issues, pose hard questions of national importance and expose some deep rooted malaise within a society they are acceptable. India TVs expose hardly addresses any of the above. Rather all it did was to send the TRPs of the Fledging channel northwards and gather the channel enough publicity.

Memorable Movie Characters

Every once in a while one watches a movie that leaves an impression that lasts beyond the couple of hours spent in the theater. More than the movie itself, it is the that characters stay with you for long and sometimes for life. Here are my favorite characters from Hollywood movies

1. Coach Boone in Remember The Titans : By far the most inspiring movie I have seen. Each time I watch it, I get an andrelaine rush and a feeling that I can achieve something in life. Denzel Washington's brilliant potrayal of a Virginia high school team football coach, who resurrects not only the fortunes of his school football team but by doing so brings the racially split community as one, was at once moving and motivating.No wonder Team Indias coach showed the same movie to his boys before the WC 2003. Outwardly harsh, outspoken and rude, Boone in reality is only trying to toughen his boys. His path is met with full resistance initially from the Hall of Famer Coach he is replacing, from the community and from the white players as well. However eventually Boone wins them all and guides them all the way.Super effort from Denzel,brilliant script and outstanding dialog

Memorable quotes :
1. Adressing the team on first day "This is no democracy. This is dictatorship and I, am the law."

Memorable Scene : 1) Football practice is over for the day. The Offense and the Defense make a huddle and chant "Left Side, Strong Side". Finally, Coach Boone has got his squad as one.
2) The Standing Ovation to Gerry Bertier's Mom even as Gerry lies injured in his hospital bed.
3) The early morning 3.30 am practice jog to the land where their" forefathers died fighting for the nation"

2. Col. Nathan R Jessop in A Few Good Men : No movie character has impressed me more and am yet to see a person so dominating in real or reel life. When I watched the movie for the first time I was stunned by the sher force of Jessop's dialog delivery. Unshakeable in his convictions about the manner of executing his duties, Jessop beleives that ends are more important than the means used to achieve it. Entrusted with the duty of defending his nation Jessop will go any lengths and use any means to do it.When someone attemps to get to the bottom of whats happening in his "Shangri-La" he doesnt take it too well. (This blog owes its name to this movie) Subjected to a court trial about a misconduct in his unit, Jessop looses his calm under intense questioning proving what was feared all along.

From the first line where he is seen questioning the integrity of PFC Santiago to his last wherein he threatens laywer Kaffe that he would "rip your heart and piss in your dead skull"Jessop plays his role with an intensity and passion that would can arise only from a man who has absolute control and confidence over what he is doing. I would love to have that level of confidence in me.

Fittingly, the end of the movie poses more questions than it answers. Who are the Few Good Men ? Is it Kaffe and Galloway for uncovering the truth ? Is it the pair of Dawson and Downey who were only following their orders ? or is it Col. Nathan R Jessop, Commanding Officer,United States Marines, Guantanamo Bay Cuba ?

Memorable Quote :
1. During the court room " You need me on that Wall. You want me on that wall"
2. You have to ask me nicely. You see son I can deal with the blood bombs and teh bullets, I dont want money and I dont want medals.What I do want is for you to stand there in that faggoty white unform of yours and with your Harward mouth extend me some F***ing courtesy. You have to ask me nicely.
3. I eat breakfast 300 yards from 400 Cubans trained to kill me.

1. The breakfast scene at Guantanamo where he humiliates and lets the lawyers know exactly what he thinks of them without so much as shifting from his seat, with a cigar dangling in his mouth full time.

==
3.Maximus Decimius Meridias in Gladiator
Russel Crowe plays Maximus in this Ridley Scott directed movie set in Rome.The movie is visually stunning and depicts ancient Rome 180 AD in engrossing detail.Maximus,set to be appointed as the General of Rome,instead finds himslef sold into slavery as a Gladiator.He reutns to take his reveng. Maximus's chilling cold gaze,cool head under the threat of certain death and his thrist for revenge are what stay with the viewer.

Memorable Quote :
1. "What we do in life echoes in eternity"
2. "..............Father to a murdered son, Husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengenance, in this life or the next"
3."On my command,unleash hell"
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4. Forrest Gump in and as Forrest Gump: This Oscar winning moving performance established Tom Hanks as once of the finest actors of his generation. Forrest's strong point as well as his drawback is his simplistic view of life. Whereas everyone sees life and see things in shades of gray,Forrest sees in a Black and White. He follows orders qithout questioning why and how. He doesn't think too much and keeps his life simple and uncomplicated. It is an attribute that only an young innocent child can have. As one grows and experiences the big bad world life becomes more mean and devious plotting and thinking about the underlysing meaning or message or implications of everything that is being said or done.

Memorable Quote
1. "My mama always said, Life is like a box of chocolates Forrest. You never know what you are gonna get"
Memorable Scene
1. The one where he discovers that his child is 'perfect' and sits down to watch TV with him

5. Black Mamba in Kill Bill: Not many will agree here but what the hell. In the hands of a lesser director Kill Bill would have been just another action flick. But Quentin Tarantino sets up this revenge saga in style, led by the stylish Uma Thurman in the lead role . The action in the film is as unconventional (the use of Japanese anime) as it is mind blowing.The story move at a nice pace throughout from Texas to Japan .Thurman is brilliant in all the action scenes and looks stunning. I might be a little gruding in granting this spot but my first reaction after watching part One was "Whens 2 coming ?"

Memorable Scenes
1. Sword fight against the snow background against O Ren Ishii. Its visually stunning and gory yet beautiful at the same time

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Honorable Mentions :
1. Lt. Daniel Kaffe by Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men
2. Tony Montana by Al Pacino in Scarface
3. Captain Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp in The Pirates of the Carribean
4.Donnie Brascoby Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco
5. Joe by Clint Eastwood in The Good,The Bad and The Ugly

Of Shoaib and Sania,

Yo
The Pak team is in India minus superstar Shoaib. Apparently, his teammates arent too mindful of the fact nor are they too crazy about having him on their bus.No doubt, they are fed up with his antics and would rather sort out the business of playing and winning games themselves.
But I am sure everyone except those 15 wish he had been on the squad, and that includes me as well, for there is no sight in cricket more thrilling than to watch a pace bowler in full flow charge in and test the batsmen with bouncers and swingers, with cutters and simply pacy ones.Except for that one test when he got Sachin and Dravid in successive deliveries, the Rawalpindi Express really hasnt been too much of a wory for us. But the thrill of watching a great showman is a spectators delight and it would have been quite a sight to see him bowl on INdias fastest pitch at Mohali.Shoiab, inspite of all the makings of a great bowler is still miles away from that echeleon. Most of the reasons why lie away from the 22 yards. Shoaib hopefully realises that. Time away from the game should *hopefully* keep him away from the spotlight and the medias incessant glare. A bit of introspection and I am sure the Rawalpindi Express will be back on tracks in full steam.

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Speaking of full steam Sania Mirza certainly seems to be at it. Her victory last nite over Kuznetsova, her ATP tour win at Hyderabad and the US open game against Serena all seem to point to the makings of a superstar. The game is there along with the confidence to take on the best. But what will really decide her future more than anything else is her support system. A full fledged trainer, a full time travelling coach, dietician and other issues like sponsorship, managing finances and learning to deal with media are the least of these. The ATP tour is one lonely place and travelling around the globe takes a big toll mentally and physically. One just hopes that Sania keeps her head on her shoulders and both her feet on the ground and achieves her stated task of cracking into the Top 50 by the year end.
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PS : Saw a sexy yellow Lamborghni Daiblo last nite at Chilis. Wonder if I will ever drive even 1/4th as expensive a pair of wheels. Cut to reality : gotto go to school tomorrow. Gotto pump my tyres and oil the chain. Gundyas cycle after 2.5 years of service is still going strong but lately its been too squeaky.

Nice guys finish first.....

Yo,
Lately good things have been hapenning to good folks. In terms of jobs that is.

2 of my closest buddies are set to beging an internship and a full time job in Cincinnati and NC respectively. Another roomie will join Motorola. One has a promotion lined up and another got a well deserved break with a giant consulting company. He now sits in his cabin with the Rockies for his view, and SAAB as his means of transport and his guitar for company. And another will leave for Canada to get his visa stamped and will head to Rome on a business visit.

All this while making me feel kind of left out of the fun does enthuse me with optimism. The process of job search promises to be a lonf and ardous task but when I see my buddies moving along it does provide me a sense of purpose and motivation